Panasonic vs. Sony for big-screen 3D

We're not sure if it's because companies want to flog us more expensive TVs or not, but the consensus seems to be that when it comes to 3D: bigger is better.

At the Integrate trade show this week both Panasonic and Sony were keen to show off how "big" they could make your 3D experience. On the Panasonic side it had both a hulking 103-inch 3D plasma and a couple of projectors hooked up to provide 3D playback on a huge scale.

Similarly, Sony had its massive VPL-FH300L projectors out on display, which are capable of images 15 metres wide! That's six times the size of Panasonic's plasma.

While the projectors are strictly for installation use and only the most dedicated home theatre fan would ever conceive of putting them in their house, the 103-inch TV could realistically fit in a large loungeroom. The price? Both companies were tight-lipped about this but we can only say: if you have to ask you can't afford them!

The Panasonic TH-103VX200 is the big daddy to the Editors' Choice-winning VT20 and is a massive 103 inches of 3D fury with a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio. If it's a little too big for you there is an 85-incher as well.

Soaring high in the sky! In the murky depths of the Panasonic stand lurked the 103-inch display. Unlike the projectors featured further in this article, this TV uses proprietary AU$200 glasses instead of the disposable ones you get at the cinema.

Panasonic showed 3D demos on a couple of PT-DZ6710 projectors converted to display 3D. But they didn't just use a 3D Blu-ray player to playback the videos: they used the camera it was recorded on: the US$20,000 AG-3DA1 3D camera.

Looking like a Midnight Oil stage-prop, the two Sony VPL-FH300Ls stacked together are an imposing sight. Sony says combining two is still cheaper than buying a dedicated 3D cinema projector.

Not 3D but equally cool, the Optoma Pico PK301 projector (AU$699) is capable of displaying one of the brightest images we've seen for an LED projector and still boasts an 854x480 resolution.

The Sony VPL-FH300L uses ordinary throwaway glasses like the ones you get at the cinema.

Really like your Longfin Bannerfish? Then why not have a 3D projection globe installed in pride of place thanks to Amber Technology.